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STO's latest Ask Cryptic tackles War Targs, weekly episodes and free-to-play
It's the beginning of a new month, and that means another Q&A session between Cryptic and fans. Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl stepped up for a comprehensive Ask Cryptic that looked deep into the eyes of the void and came back all the wiser for it. The questions run across the board, with a large chunk devoted to future content: More bridge officer features? (Season Four.) New weekly episodes? (January, with more to follow.) Better deep space encounters? (The team is overhauling these after Season Three.) The ability to join factions? (Possible, such as a Ferengi trader faction.) Stahl also admits that there are "too many currencies" in the game at the moment, and the team will be paring those down. One of the most requested features by players is the addition of the classic Enterprise bridge layout from the 1960's series, and it looks as though Cryptic will be delivering: "I can see this getting done in the next several updates." And if you are among the crowd predicting that STO will quickly follow in Champions Online's F2P footsteps, it doesn't appear to be in the works (at least, not yet): "We're very excited to see Champs go F2P but this has no direct impact on Star Trek Online. Our subscription and C-Store model will continue forward without changes."
Captain's Log: Anticipating STO's future in user-generated content
Hey there, folks! Welcome back to another edition of Captain's Log, Massively's rarely-coherent-but-always-fun look at Star Trek Online. I have had just the busiest darn week, you betcha. I spent all weekend at New York Comic Con, where I saw more than a few folks dressed to the nines in Star Trek gear, and then I started a shiny new day job on Monday. Phew! I've been thinking a lot about user-generated content lately. In a recent interview, STO Executive Producer Daniel Stahl offers a few details on the subject, in which we learn a bit about the forthcoming system's abilities and limitations. What do we know about STO's UGC tools? What do we still not know -- mainly, when can we get in there and start crafting our own missions? Why, follow me past the jump to find out.
Captain's Log: Ask Cryptic raises questions about STO's future
The future of Star Trek Online comes up a lot in Captain's Log. Whether imagining cool new features or picking apart comments by Executive Producer Daniel Stahl, I ponder STO's tomorrows fairly frequently. But, hey, it's not my fault the folks at Cryptic Studios talk about the game's near and far future so much, right? Especially with their monthly Ask Cryptic feature, the developers address the game's, er, development all the time. This month's extra-hefty Ask Cryptic offers players a lot of tasty food for thought -- but a forum post I missed last week has given me indigestion.
Cryptic answers the 29 most pressing STO questions
Star Trek Online's monthly Ask Cryptic features are always something for fans to look forward to reading, but this month even more so as executive producer Dan Stahl goes well beyond the normal handful of queries to accumulate 29 questions and answers to some of the hottest topics among the community. Included in this Q&A session is a sneak peek at the work-in-progress Tholian race (above left), the revelation that Season 4 will primarily focus on retooling repeatable end game content, fleet starbases, passive bridge officer abilities, Season 3 item sets, Memory Alpha improvements, sector space expansion and much, much more. Stahl even explains why he picks the questions he does to answer -- basically, he likes to get into topics that aren't repeatedly touched upon in interviews. Those hoping for a full-fledged STO expansion shouldn't start holding their breath, however: "It is unclear if we will ever produce a paid expansion as the market is leaning away from expansions and more towards smaller microtransactions. However, if we ever did release a paid expansion, it would be a significant update and add some new functionality to the game that would be deemed worth the price of the release."
Captain's Log: Five features STO should "borrow" from other MMOs
Hi, everybody! (Hi, Dr. Nick!) Thanks for tuning in to another edition of Captain's Log, where we laud and lament the finer points of Star Trek Online each and every Thursday. Last week sure was fun, wasn't it? Nothing gets the comments pumping like defending the work of Cryptic Studios, amirite? This week, I feel like having a little more fun. These are exciting times for MMO-lovers, and I admit my eye -- and my playing time -- have gone a-wanderin' of late. So I got to thinking this week about which features from other MMOs I would most like to see implemented in STO. Keep reading, because I'm going to tell them to you! And then I'm going to demand that you suggest your own features in the comments!
Newest Ask Cryptic focuses on Star Trek Online's weekly episodes
The Breen might be backstabbing frozen monsters, but they've been a part of something wonderful in Star Trek Online. Not in the sense that they've stopped being backstabbing frozen monsters, but in the sense that you'd be hard-pressed to find a player unhappy with the new featured episodes. And with the ongoing plan to add a new episode every week, there's going to be a lot more content to enjoy in short order. The most recent Ask Cryptic feature, unsurprisingly, has focused on this new aspect of the game, with Dan Stahl fielding player questions on the weekly feature. Perhaps most interesting for players will be the fact that Stahl talks about using the prototype version of user-generated content tools to develop some of the patrol missions seen in-game, reminding players that the option to make your own episodes is coming with time. There's also re-affirmation of the episodes becoming permanent features of the game and scaling to all levels, allowing players to take off the rails of the previous leveling structure and chart their own course. View the full article for a deeper look inside the newest part of Star Trek Online, and really, don't turn your back on a Breen.
Captain's Log: Starship interiors and hints of the future
Oh, hi there, readers! You'll have to excuse me; I was just enjoying a little quiet time in my quarters. My starship quarters. Inside my starship. Because I have those now. Yes, among many other features, Season 2: Ancient Enemies introduced starship interiors to Star Trek Online. Continuing from last week's discussion of diplomacy, one of Season 2's other big additions, I thought we'd spend this edition of Captain's Log examining ship interiors. Plus, we'll take a special side trip into the future to consider what else STO fans can look forward to -- in the future!
Cryptic discusses user-generated content and future improvements for STO
As Star Trek Online concludes its shakedown cruise of the recent Season 2.0 update, players have turned their eyes to the future and pondered, "What's next?" Coming to their aid is STO's executive producer Dan Stahl, who fields a large number of questions about upcoming features and works in progress in the latest Ask Cryptic article. One of the inquiries covered was user-generated content, which Stahl confirmed would be coming -- at least in beta form -- with Season 3. "We aren't discussing our specific plans just yet, but we do want the tools to be easy to use so that players can begin to create their own missions and episodes," he said. "This may or may not be the big secret project we are working on." Other questions into the future development of Star Trek Online included customizable ship interiors, the PvP system, bridge officer promotions, expanding the Sol System, the ability to play as a holographic character, and bridge officer voices. And for those standing at the edge of their captain's chairs, eager to sit down, don't fret: Cryptic is hard at work on the long-awaited "sit in chairs" feature. You can read the full Ask Cryptic over at STO's website.
Captain's Log: The C-Store and the perils of going freemium
Welcome to another installment of Captain's Log, in which we explore -- and sometimes complain about -- the uncharted depths of Star Trek Online. This is your captain speaking from behind a rickety card table in a basement somewhere in the murky New Jersey Nebula. Isn't moving the worst? Last week, we learned a little bit about Daniel Stahl, the brand new executive producer on STO. But not enough to prepare us for the crazy truth bomb with which he torpedoed the official forums. On Sunday, Stahl suggested that he could see STO going free-to-play. Seriously. I had planned to discuss the Cryptic Store this week anyway, and this fits in nicely, given micro-transactions' importance to the free-to-play model. Would Cryptic Studios' switching STO from subscriptions to an F2P model be a godsend or a hellish nightmare? (Hint: It would wind up somewhere in the middle.)
Champions Online tells players what not to expect
Sometimes it's very helpful to hear what you're not getting. It's never particularly pleasant, of course -- we usually like to hear about the cool things coming right around the bend -- but it's also useful to be told what isn't coming for your favorite game. The most recent installment of Ask Cryptic for Champions Online falls under that category, with several questions about upcoming features given a straight denial. There are no plans for four-armed characters, rotating and scaling tattoos, and a current push for more persistent content as opposed to zone-wide attack events. On the flip side, the answers do paint a few interesting pictures, such as talk about potentially adding a villainous counterpart to the game in the vein of City of Villains. The idea is discussed as something not in the immediate future, but on the list for future inclusion -- albeit with a much more sandbox style of gameplay, keeping in the vein of a supervillain romp. Champions Online is currently pretty well dedicated to getting its existing systems shored up and working well, however -- and while that might mean a few rejected ideas, it means that the team wants to build a solid foundation.
Star Trek Online bringing in old favorites and old unknowns
The Star Trek Online team has gone through some shakeups recently, not to mention a touch of controversy regarding the most recent addition to the game's microtransaction store. But the newest Ask Cryptic should buy them a little bit of good will, considering that they've announced the upgraded ships for Vice Admirals -- specifically, a Galaxy-class that can separate, an Intrepid-class with ablative armor, and a Defiant-class with a cloaking device. It's the sort of stuff that any fan of the series would be hard-pressed not to grin about. Most of the other questions are equally concerned with the upcoming Season 2, which promises to bring in the Federation Diplomatic Corps as well as the ancient enemies of the klingons, the fek'ihri. The latter hasn't been seen or mentioned prior, which suggests that there might be some very interesting story explanation for why the race has been absent if they share an old rivalry. Take a look at the full list of questions for more bits and pieces on Star Trek Online's future, up to and including Facebook integration. (Optional integration, that is. No one's about to start up the mess of the week again.)
Newest Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online highlights gaps between series and game
The trouble with making Star Trek Online is that there are a lot of parts that work great in a dramatic television series that don't necessarily work as well in a game. As much fun as it might be to have your bridge officers get together for a poker game, there's a dearth of useful ways to integrate it into gameplay in a meaningful sense. That having been said, the team at Cryptic is clearly interested in trying to add as many iconic elements from the series as possible, as spotlighted in the most recent set of Ask Cryptic answers on the official site. A prime example are individual bridge officer stories -- they want to add them, but there are so many variables that the effort winds up feeling more generic instead of more personal. However, there are ideas and hopeful plans for adding more personalities to bridge officers, as well as the potential to respec your officers (although that also runs into minor problems). There's also some information about the upcoming Diplomatic missions to help spice up exploring the nebulae around the galaxy. Star Trek Online players are encouraged to take a look at the full list of answers, which covers quite a bit of space in both design and lore.
Illuminating answers about the upcoming patch for Champions Online
The first adventure pack for Champions Online is due out this month, although we don't know quite when just yet. But there are a lot of things coming along with the new pack, such as the promised return of Blood Moon and the addition of a difficulty slider. If you're curious about what all of this means from a gameplay perspective, you're coming to it at the right time, as the most recent Ask Cryptic has just been released, covering most of what players might be wondering about. The difficulty slider will be responsible for improved drops, but costume pieces are likely to remain just as frequent (or infrequent) as they currently are. Players who have watched the development of Star Trek Online might be saddened to know that the resistance bonuses and such coming with the Accolade system in that game will not be copied for Champions Online's Perks system. But there's also the prospect of expanding smaller regions into full-sized explorable zones, and some details on the next few adventure packs heading down the pipeline. It should be good news for the game's players, and it certainly helps keep the interest stoked for the coming release of Serpent Lantern.
Difficulty sliders and grind reduction due for Champions Online
With additions like the melee review patch and the first adventure pack either out or coming on fast, the obvious question about Champions Online is also the simplest to ask: what now? The latest installment of Ask Cryptic certainly does answer the question; unfortunately, said response includes saying "no" to some things that players want. The addition of a base construction feature is a prime example and the biggest negative -- while it's acknowledged to be frequently requested, the development team apparently lacks the time to add it in a fashion that they find interesting. On the other hand, there are features which almost any player can welcome, such as the difficulty slider seen in Star Trek Online, currently slated for release along with the first adventure pack. There's also a promise that the development team will look into grinding as being the most "rewarding" activity in the game via adjusting drop rates and overall rewards. In the somewhat more mixed news category, the team plans to do another review of powers after the adventure pack goes live, although they're not yet certain which sets and mechanics will be undergoing examination. Read the full list of questions and answers at the official Champions Online site.
PvP questions answered for Star Trek Online
One of the oft-raised issues that Star Trek Online has faced has been PvP and its implementation. With a faction almost wholly devoted to PvP, some iffy use of maps and missions, balance problems and other concerns... people might argue it's not the biggest issue, but it's certainly a sizable one. So the most recent installment of Ask Cryptic for the game has centered around the time-honored art of facing down your virtual opponents. It starts off with a couple of small disappointments for some: open PvP regions and one-on-one combat are something the development team would like to implement, but it's not as high on their priority list at the moment. Good news is included, however. There are plans for better rewards for PvP, both including a wider variety of weapons and improvements to earning consumables in both space and ground combat. There are plans to try and expand team sizes for PvP maps as well as helping to distinguish between allied and enemy ships. Most importantly, there are balance changes coming to fix certain ships (such as Science Vessels) that are holding up a little too well in PvP. Take a look at the full list of questions, which should be of interest to any Star Trek Online player that enjoys mixing it up with other players.
Newest Ask Cryptic on Champions Online
For whatever people may fault them on, Cryptic Studios has an excellent track record for trying to keep communications open between the company and the fans. Champions Online regularly allows players to ask any number and breadth of questions in the Ask Cryptic feature, and hot on the heels of the melee powerset developer diary comes the latest batch of questions. While the focus tends toward the Supernatural power set, a wide variety of topics are included, as well as a bit more talk about the issues of melee characters versus ranged ones. Players excited by the new changes can take heart in the news that the entire Super Powers Patch (of which both the upcoming Supernatural changes and the melee changes are a part) should be hitting the test server soon. There's a fairly detailed breakdown of many affected Supernatural powers, as well as more abstract issues like why there aren't more cosmetic variants to power effects. The answers also discuss briefly how melee damage had already been tuned higher than ranged damage in hopes of balancing the two. Any Champions Online player should take a look at the answers, as they cover a variety of topics -- and may well give you ideas for when the next edition of Ask Cryptic rolls around.
Newest responses to Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online talks Klingons
There's a certain mystique that Klingons hold for Star Trek fans, having shown up for many different stories in every show and even several movies. That's not even counting the fact that they have an entire language to back them up. So it's probably not a huge surprise that the most recent Ask Cryptic has been dedicated to questions about the Klingon Empire in Star Trek Online. Players have enjoyed the concept, but there have been more than a few expressions of disappointment at the lack of non-PvP options for the faction and the customization available (or not available) to the participants. The short version is that many of the things being asked for by Klingon players are coming -- more customization, more ship types, and more options to advance oneself without blasting honorless Federation ships out of the sky. There's even a promise of opportunities for the two factions to interact outside of combat, although the question of capturing landmarks via PvP is met with a negative. One of the responses also hints that there may be yet more factions in the game. All of the questions may be found here, which promise an interesting future for Klingons and Federation players alike in Star Trek Online.
Latest Ask Cryptic explores Star Trek Online skills
Cryptic continues making new efforts to reach out to fans, but Ask Cryptic is a feature that does this and has been around for quite a while. This week brings the 20th installment, addressing player concerns and questions regarding skills in Star Trek Online. Since Star Trek Online is still a new game, many of the intricacies of skills, skill point caps, weapons, and so on are still new. Players have lots of questions regarding how things work or what the point of certain items or restrictions are. Ask Cryptic answered questions from five different players this week, and explained how many different factors affect the way these mechanics work -- with most factors coming directly from the player. Playstyle, game goals, even what kind of weapon skin or style you like -- all of these factors serve to give a different definition of "useful" to every player. Check out the latest Ask Cryptic here for some hints on getting more out of the skill setup.
Fans express concerns in newest Ask Cryptic
The folks at Cryptic wanted to hear from you, and hear from you they did. Last week, the call went out for fan questions for the next installment of Ask Cryptic, and the current round of questions was posted last night. It's no secret that concern has been growing in the player community for a while now regarding all things Cryptic. While a bit of Star Trek Online made its way into the Q&A, things primarily focused on Champions Online and the company as a whole. Fans asked questions regarding the future of Champions Online and Cryptic's commitment to the game, what they plan to do in order to rebuild faith in the company, and what they've learned from the rocky ride they have had so far. A few questions made it in that were less "big picture" as well, regarding themed characters and the upcoming melee rebalance. The latest Ask Cryptic can be found on the official site, so take a look and see what you think.
The return of 'Ask Cryptic' for Champions Online
Ask Cryptic is finally back for the Champions Online community. In the past. the feature regularly allowed a Q&A style of communication between curious or concerned players and the developers at Cryptic working on the game. Unfortunately, once Champions Online launched the feature fell by the wayside, at least until now. If you would like to submit some questions (be they about Vibora Bay or other topics) there's only two simple rules given by Cryptic: Any topic is fair game. Questions must be written in a respectful tone. Seems pretty reasonable, no? Head over to this thread on the official forums to post your questions -- just remember you'll need an official forum account to gain access. We look forward to seeing the results of your questions, which you can be sure to find right here on Massively.
